IAACE Blog: News for You

Governor Holcomb spoke as promised. But he gave only a few remarks of thanks to the members for the work we're doing on the State Workforce Innovation Council. No outline of his workforce priorities as stated on our agenda.

We heard some reports from our Youth Committee, Work & Learn Taskforce, and Youth Committee, in which we learned that JAG (Jobs for America's Graduates) is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year. JAG has been very successful in Indiana, having produced a 94% high school graduation rate among its participants. Secondly, the Lily Foundation awarded non-competitive planning grants to 284 school districts to enhance their school counseling services. The planning grant will be followed by 4-year competitive implementation grant. Thirdly, DWD awarded grants totaling $600,000 to 42 school corporations (or consortia of school corporations) to implement a statewide Work Ethic Certification for students who meet nine behavioral and attendance competencies (e.g., 98% attendance rate, 1 or fewer discipline referrals, teamwork, organization, 2.0 GPA, etc.). Non-funded school corporations may also implement the program. The schools verify which participating students qualify for the Work Ethic Certificate, and it is signed by the Governor. The purpose is to help form in students the behaviors and qualities that are required in the workforce and help businesses identify the most hire-able employees.

In addition to those three committees, SWIC created three new taskforces: Sector Strategies (to provide guidance and support for Indiana's sector partnerships), Career Counseling (to focus on use of Indiana Career Explorer), and WIOA Implementation ad hoc Taskforce (to review WIOA draft policies as needed, the Eligible Training Provider List, and One-Stop operators).

We received an update on DWD's Demand-Driving Workforce System initiative. It has three components: (1) capturing accurate, relevant job demand data, (2) defined library of skills needed for occupations and where to learn those skills, and (3) informing of stakeholders (e.g., training providers, employers, educators, parents, job seekers) of current job availability, future job demand, and skills needed to obtain those jobs. {Rob's commentary: I think we'll see this initiative manifested in tools like Indiana Career Explorer, Hoosiers By The Numbers reports, the Eligible Training Provider List, Ivy Tech Workforce Alignment Tool, WorkOne dashboards, etc.}

Aliesha Hawkins reported on WorkIN successes. From July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2016, the program has had 4,806 enrollments, 3,972 (85%) completions, and 3,100 (78%) certifications. The program has a 93% employment rate. There are almost 400 WorkIN programs throughout the state. A success story featuring Molly Dodge and a student in Region 9 is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwatrHlVZtw (and below).